Matching Items (7)
Filtering by

Clear all filters

153084-Thumbnail Image.png
Descriptionbold-Navajo Language-bold

italic-Novice, Intermediate, Proficient, Advance-italic
ContributorsTodacheeny, Frank (Author) / Spencer, Dee Ann (Thesis advisor) / Appleton, Nicholas (Committee member) / Gilmore, Treva (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
150557-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
Career and technical education was founded on the common practice of apprenticeships integrated into the public schools at the beginning of the 20th century as manual arts, which continued to evolve into a culture and practice of its own as vocational education, and into what is now career and technical

Career and technical education was founded on the common practice of apprenticeships integrated into the public schools at the beginning of the 20th century as manual arts, which continued to evolve into a culture and practice of its own as vocational education, and into what is now career and technical education,with an evolving focus on college and career readiness. This study sought to collect and compare the perceptions of superintendents, principals, assistant principals, and deans who were affiliated with ten Northeastern Arizona high schools, which were members of Northern Arizona Vocational Institute of Technology (NAVIT) to seven similar sized high schools in rural Arizona, which were not affiliated with NAVIT. The NAVIT schools were members of the Joint Technological Educational District. The member schools were required by intergovernmental agreement to operate their career and technical education programs by specific guidelines and curriculum.This study also compared the combined average academic achievement of the 2011 CTE concentrators of the NAVIT high schools, the non-NAVIT high schools, and all Arizona statewide CTE concentrators. Both NAVIT and non-NAVIT administrators were administered a survey, designed to measure perceptions of college/postsecondary preparation, career guidance and counseling,academic tracking, and curriculum. Results revealed that both NAVIT and non-NAVIT administrators were supportive of career and technical education, but for different reasons. The NAVIT administrators tended to view students in career and technical education programs as more mainstream, with college opportunities. The non-NAVIT administrators supported career and technical education as a system of programs that offered students opportunities for success, whether college bound or not. A significant number of NAVIT and non-NAVIT administrators opted for no opinion responses for several potentially controversial survey questions, which suggested discomfort with the topics. The academic achievement of the NAVIT, non-NAVIT, and statewide CTE concentrators as measured by the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards pass rates were marginal between groupings. The statewide average was highest, followed by NAVIT, and non-NAVIT. Recommendations for further research include conducting personal interviews of administrators to better assess leaders' perceptions of career and technical education and their influences on the academic and postsecondary career successes of students.
ContributorsHaussman, Charles E (Author) / Spencer, Dee Ann (Thesis advisor) / Appleton, Nicholas (Committee member) / Mckinnon, Jeri (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
150328-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
In 2005, the Navajo Sovereignty in Education Act was signed into law by the Navajo Nation. Like the No Child Left Behind Act, this Navajo Nation legislation was as much a policy statement as it was a law. It marked the first time that the Navajo Nation linked sovereignty with

In 2005, the Navajo Sovereignty in Education Act was signed into law by the Navajo Nation. Like the No Child Left Behind Act, this Navajo Nation legislation was as much a policy statement as it was a law. It marked the first time that the Navajo Nation linked sovereignty with education by expressing its intent to control all education within its exterior boundaries. The objective of the law was to create a department of education that would resemble the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah in which the Navajo Nation resides. Through their department of education, the Navajo Nation would operate the educational functions for its populace. This study looked at the implications and impact that perspectives of this law would have on public schools within Arizona from the perspective of five superintendents in Arizona public schools within the Navajo Nation were gained through open-ended interviews. It examined the legal, fiscal, and curricular issues through the prism of sovereignty. Through the process of interviews utilizing a set of guided questions in a semi-structured format, five superintendents in Arizona public schools within the Navajo Nation shared their perspectives. Analysis of the five interviews revealed curriculum, funding, jurisdictional, and fear or mistrust as problems the Navajo Nation will need to overcome if it is to begin full control of all aspects of education within its boundaries. There is a strong need for the Department of Dine' Education to educate public schools with regards to the Navajo Nation Sovereignty in Education Act of 2005. Administrators need more training in tribal governments. Like the constitution, the Navajo Sovereignty in Education Act will be interpreted differently by different people. But, without action, it will be ignored. Within the Act's pages are the hopes of the Navajo Nation and the dreams for our young Navajo students.
ContributorsRoessel, Karina A (Author) / Appleton, Nicholas (Thesis advisor) / Spencer, Dee Ann (Thesis advisor) / Wauneka, Jacquelyne (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
156262-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
This action research study focused on training for teacher mentors and teacher mentor self-efficacy. Specifically, this project explored the impact participation in a teacher mentor training program and teacher mentor peer shadowing had on teacher mentor self-efficacy. While there is a plethora of literature on teacher self-efficacy, minimal literature

This action research study focused on training for teacher mentors and teacher mentor self-efficacy. Specifically, this project explored the impact participation in a teacher mentor training program and teacher mentor peer shadowing had on teacher mentor self-efficacy. While there is a plethora of literature on teacher self-efficacy, minimal literature exists on the self-efficacy of teacher mentors. Bandura’s self-efficacy theory and cognitive and collaborative apprenticeship provided the foundational body of knowledge in order to understand teacher mentors’ experiences.

This study followed thirty-seven teacher mentors through the first half of the Arizona K12 Center’s Professional Learning Series – Mentor Academy Year 1. Teacher mentors were given a pre-survey upon their first day in the training series, a mid-point survey halfway through the semester and a post-survey at the beginning of the following semester. Teacher mentor self-efficacy data was collected from the surveys and analyzed to determine the impact their participation in the training program had on their self-efficacy. Five random teacher mentors were also selected for interviews. This qualitative data were collected to compliment the quantitative survey data. The second part of the study consisted of interviewing six teacher mentors in a local secondary education school district to gauge the impact the peer mentor shadowing program had on their self-efficacy. Quantitative and qualitative data collected provided insights on the impact these supports had on teacher mentor self-efficacy.

The results of this study indicate the challenge and complexities of being a teacher mentor. The data showed that teacher mentors who lacked training prior to or upon initial entry into their new position of teacher mentor struggled to be effective which negatively affected their self-efficacy. The data also indicated that teacher mentors who participated in the Arizona K12 Center’s mentor training program had greater self-efficacy for their roles. Finally, teacher mentors participating in peer mentor shadowing opportunities found it to be of the greatest impact leading to stronger self-efficacy.
ContributorsThomsen, Teri (Author) / Kulinna, Pamela (Thesis advisor) / Olson-Stewart, Kelly (Committee member) / Mosco, Michele (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
149605-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
Although racial minorities are heavily represented in student bodies throughout the United States, school administrators who work with minority children have been overwhelmingly White. Previous research by race scholars has demonstrated that systems of racial dominance in the larger society are often replicated in schools. However, the role of White

Although racial minorities are heavily represented in student bodies throughout the United States, school administrators who work with minority children have been overwhelmingly White. Previous research by race scholars has demonstrated that systems of racial dominance in the larger society are often replicated in schools. However, the role of White school administrators in perpetuating or disrupting racism has not been documented. This study examined the racial attitudes and resulting professional practices of White school administrators who worked in a unique environment. These administrators lived and practiced their profession in towns that lay just outside the borders of the Navajo Nation, a large Indian reservation in the Four Corners region of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Termed border towns, these communities were populated by a large majority of Native Americans, with a heavy representation of Hispanics. This placed White school administrators in the uncommon position of living and working in a place where they were a numeric minority, while simultaneously representing the majority culture in the United States. Twelve White border town administrators in four different communities agreed to participate in the interview study, conducted over a two-month period in 2010 and 2011. Using a semi-structured interview format, the researcher gathered data on participants' racial attitudes and analyzed responses to find common themes. Common responses among the interviewees indicated that there were clear racial hierarchies within border town schools and that these hierarchies were sometimes atypical of those found in mainstream American society. These racial hierarchies were characterized by a dichotomy of Native American students based on residence in town or on the reservation, as well as deferential treatment of White administrators by Native American constituents. The intersectionality of race and socioeconomic class was a key finding of the study, with implications for school administrators' professional actions. Racial attitudes also impacted White border town administrators' actions and sometimes reinforced institutionally racist practices. Finally, results of the study supported several established models of race relations and White identity formation.
ContributorsOrr, Kimberly (Author) / Spencer, Dee Ann (Thesis advisor) / Appleton, Nicholas (Committee member) / Hotchkiss, Margaret (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
152357-Thumbnail Image.png
Description
ABSTRACT The high percentage and the steady growth of Hispanic/Latino students in Arizona demand that special attention be placed on improving academic achievement and attainment. The need to support Hispanic/Latino parents in becoming meaningful positive contributors to their children's schooling continues to surface as a critical issue in school improvement

ABSTRACT The high percentage and the steady growth of Hispanic/Latino students in Arizona demand that special attention be placed on improving academic achievement and attainment. The need to support Hispanic/Latino parents in becoming meaningful positive contributors to their children's schooling continues to surface as a critical issue in school improvement efforts in many Arizona districts. American Dream Academy, part of the Center for Community Development and Civil Rights at Arizona State University, has aimed to address this critical issue. Their focus has been to change Latino parents' beliefs about, knowledge of, and behaviors related to their children's education from pre-kindergarten to the post-secondary level. The Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler model, Realizing the American Dream, for parental involvement was the basis for the design of the curriculum used by the American Dream Academy. The purpose of this study was to analyze the efficacy of the American Dream Academy in changing the beliefs, knowledge, and behaviors of parents. The data sources were demographic and pre- and post-academy surveys taken by 719 parents representing 42 Title 1 school districts throughout Maricopa County, Arizona during the spring semester of 2012. Two tailed t tests and the significant p values revealed statistically significant changes after participation in the academy for each one of the survey statement constructs, beliefs, knowledge, and behaviors. A computation of the effect sizes using Cohen's d revealed that there were moderate to large effect sizes for each of the constructs. The knowledge construct had the largest effect size. Pearson correlation coefficients revealed that the gains for each construct were positively correlated with each of the other constructs and that the relationships were statistically significant. The significant effects of the American Dream Academy's curriculum were considerable in changing parents' beliefs, knowledge, and behaviors as to pre-kindergarten and post-secondary education. Of special notice is the effect that the academy had on parents' knowledge of how to help their children as they navigate through the United States' educational system. It is recommended that school districts partner with the American Dream Academy in efforts to engage parents in meaningful participation.
ContributorsPortillo, Danelia (Author) / Spencer, Dee Ann (Thesis advisor) / Appleton, Nicholas A (Committee member) / Diaz, René X (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013